"newsline". u.s. president barack obama spent much of his first term battling a financial crisis. he won four more years with a pledge to get the economy going again. now he's outlined his strategy for making good on that promise. this year's state of the union address focused on job creation. but north korea also got high play. he said he would seek a tough response to tuesday's nuclear test. we have a report from washington. >> reporter: obama laid out his agenda for this year.

he spoke about boosting domestic investment, particularly in infrastructure to bolster the economy and increase jobs. he said he wants to improve the livelihood of middle income americans. >> it is our generation's task to reignite the true engine of america's economic growth, arising, thriving middle class. >> reporter: he promised to tackle issues likely to face opposition from the republicans. tightening growth, tapping the nation's green ooh house emissions and fixes the immigration system. the president singled out north korea as a security threat. he said the regime can only achieve security and prosperity

by meeting its international obligations. >> provo cages of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them as we stand by our allies, strength our missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats. >> reporter: the remarks showed obama views north korea's nuclear development as a direct threat to the united states. nhk world, washington. south korean military personnel are trying to determine the type of bomb north korean scientists used for the nuclear test. they've taken to the sea and sky to collect air samples in search of radioactive substances. a defense ministry spokesperson said the samples could help determine the makeup of the bomb. analysts suspect north korean scientists he did to natd an

enriched uranium device. defense officials in seoul say they are on alert for further provocations. >> translator: we have independently developed an deployed the world's highest class of cruise missiles. they have the accuracy and destructive power to immediately attack anywhere in north korea. he said the military is preparing for another possible north korean nuclear test and an attack on important south korean facilities. japan's economy is showing signs of improvement. now companies need to figure out how to capture the momentum as well as deal with demands for higher wages. ron madison is here with more on that. welcome back. >> thank you very much. wages has always been an issue here in japan and these annual wage negotiations have gotten into full swing. officials from auto worker

unions have submitted their demands to management. union representatives from fuji heavy industries presented their lebron james at the firm's headquarters here in tokyo. the company does make the subaru brand of cars. they say the weaker yen is helping the company's business to improve. they also asked each employee receive a bonus equal to five months of wages plus about $1,000. union leaders did not ask for an increase in base salaries. they cited uncertainty over japan's economic outlook. many auto worker unions dropped their demands for raising salaries this year. auto company executives are expected to be cautious about agreeing to any increase in labor costs. they say competition with overseas automakers is becoming too fierce. nhk survey shows many leading japanese firms remain reluctant to offer wage increases during these negotiations.

nhk surveyed 100 major companies between late january and early this month on economic prospects. 79 companies said they expect an upturn this year. many cited the government's economic stimulus measures as a reason. the weaker yen was also another factor here. when asked about their stance on the wrong going annual wage negotiations, none of the respondents said that they are considering a raise in base salaries or bonus payments. seven firms said they may even reduce bonuses. another company said it's actually considering a wage cut. an executive of toshiba explains why firms are cautious about wage hikes. >> translator: the yen's decline and stock market's advance started from the end of last year. they have brightened prospects, but they are not yet actually reflected in the company's performance. >> he went on to say that they

had to compete in the global markets while dealing with a power shortage, heavy corporate taxes and also labor restrictions. let's move on to the markets now and let's see what's going on in europe. trading there has been a pretty tight range. many investors refraining from big bets as they tended to run out of some fresh cues. we have a mixed picture developing. london's ftse 100 is lower by .2%. gains for the frankfurt market up by .1%. paris cac losing .1%. japan did not post gains. a strong overnight performance in new york. south korean markets there outperformed the region. benchmark kospi up 1.5%. had a weaker yuan.

investors welcomed record earnings results from one of the country's top banks. we'll see what happened with the nikkei down more than a percent today as the recent weakness of the yen reversed a bit. speaking of currencies we're seeing the $has been losing a bit of ground against the yen although has backed up a little bit today. dollar/yen at 93.65. many market players have been buying the yen after a group of seven financial authorities gave a statement on tuesday. they view the statement as indicating a concern about excessive moves in the japanese currency after overseas media reported a comment from an anonymous g7 official. terms of euro yen that's changing hands right now at 126.25. major japanese casual clothing store one glow is making inroads into the indonesian economy. it will open in jakarta in june.

uniqlo operator announced the star will be a tenant of a shopping mall that's now under construction. an executive of fast retailing says the jakarta store will become one of the largest among its outlets in southeast asia. >> translator: indonesia is a very important country for fast retailing's growth plan. the country has the world's fourth largest population. that's why we have devoted a lot of time to preparing for this. >> uniqlo already has outlets in four other southeast countries. the clothing chain aims to draw demand especially from the growing middle class. u.s. agricultural officials joined forces with the meat industry to promote u.s. beef here in tokyo. this comes after japan's relaxed its import restrictions. agricultural department and beef officials are taking part now in a large scale trade fair.

this is for supermarket chains and food makers. with the revised regulations, japanese importers can bring in beef from cattle up to 30 months old. the age limit until now was 20 months or younger. this was to try to avoid the risk of mad cow zis. u.s. beef representatives say the new rules mean they can offer a stable supply. the weak yen shaping up as another import barrier. supermarket officials are worried that the falling currency will raise their costs. beef producers say they can deliver lower cost cuts. beer shipments were down. cold weather and heavy snowfall dampening demand. brewers say domestic shipments of beers and beer flavored drinks totalled just over 260,000 kilo liters last month. that's down 2.6%. sales to restaurants and bars were pretty sluggish due to more cold days than average for this

time of year. and also we had some snowfall in some of the bigger cities. beer makers say they aim to boost shipments by launching new products and plan to step up their marketing efforts ahead of spring. all right that's going to wrap it up for business hour. let's check in on the markets. people of the solomon islands are struggling to get their lives back to normal just one week after a violent

earthquake and tsunami hit the south pacific nation. aid workers say damage is hampering their efforts. government officials say the tsunami killed ten people and damaged 600 houses on nendo and other islands. more than 3,000 people have been affected. relief workers say water, food, tools and other supplies are arriving. but they say severe damage to roads and ports is stalling deliveries to people. many evacuees are staying on high ground, fathers of more tsunami as after shokts continue. a worker from world vision has appealed for more contributions to repair infrastructure so aid can be delivered in addition to emergency assistance. french troops have brought some stability to the west african nation of mali. they've recaptured key cities from islamist militants. but for the hundreds of thousands of malians who fled their homes the conflict is far from over.

we have a report from the capital. >> reporter: bamako lies in the south of the country. security is heavy at the airports and other important facilities. there's fear of terror attacks by militants. but after the french intervention there's less concern that they will launch a direct offensive in the capital. >> translator: the situation has improved with the french military intervention. i can now sleep with peace of mind. >> reporter: but in the north militants still influence many cities. nearly 400,000 people fled and are sheltering in other parts of mali or neighboring countries. over 100 people from 15 northern families have stayed at this facility near bamako for often months.

evacuees rely on ngos for food. an american ngo is distributing food for the northern mallyian displaced families. this help is crucial for them to survive. 52-year-old man waits for his share. he and his family live in timbuktu area. they fled last year after fighters took control of their >> translator: life is very difficult here. there are ten of us in the family but there's nothing for us to do. it's not easy.

>> reporter: the family is christian, a minority in mali. he worked for the government training people in agriculture. he escaped because he was scared that advertise lammist militants may attack christians and government employees. he keeps two album containing family photos. he told it might be a long time before they can go home but the french intervention has given them hope that the situation in the north might improve by summer. >> translator: of course we want to go home quickly. it's terrible here. our house may not be much but it's still our home. >> reporter: but he wonders if the violence will stop. he's also concerned about going back to regional communities

made up of many ethnic groups. he says he's not sure if he can go back to living there. they led the anti-government insurgents for a long time. >> translator: we know what they did. do you think we can be friendly with each other so soon in the same place? it's not that easy. >> reporter: the french intervention has paved the way for the government of mali to regain control. friction between the ethnic groups initially allowed al qaeda linked groups to take advantage of the instability and move in. so reconciliation among the diverse population will be a major challenge for mali's future.

patients with spinal cord injuries typically lose movement in their lower body and they must resign themselves to possibly never walking again. but a group of japanese researchers has made advances in repairing damaged spinal cords and they say it might mean paraplegics will walk again. >> reporter: this man lost all movement in his lower body 13 years ago. but the 39-year-old keeps a positive attitude about being able to walk again. >> translator: i sense i'm gradually able to apply strength to my legs. i'm really surprised. >> reporter: he used to be very

active. he loved sports especially karate. but it all came to an abrupt end at the age of 26. he was injured in a motorcycle accident that ruptured his spinal cord. >> translator: i couldn't walk. i couldn't eliminate waste. i couldn't feel anything, even hot objects or when my legs hit something. how was i to live using just my upper body? >> reporter: but his outlook began to improve after he heard about research at osaka university hospital. so he decided to have an operation. it's the first of its kind in japan. and it's performed by this doctor. the team operated on their

patient for eight hours. they transplanted membrane from his nose. it was grafted near the damaged area on the spine. this tissue can be regenerate nerves. when transplanted to a damaged spinal cord it helps stretch the fibers and reconnect them. experts say patients under the age of 40 have a higher chance of success. before the operation he couldn't send electrical signals from his brain to his lower body. but the surgery helped to reconnect the nerves so the signals could get through. >> translator: it's amazing. the injury was more than a

decade ago. i hope that many patients will feel the joy of standing on their feet and walking again. the prospects look good. i consider this a major step forward. >> reporter: even though the operation was successful, it doesn't mean he can walk right away. he must undergo heavy rehabilitation. it's a new kind developed by the staff. first the patient focus on his knees. imagining he's moving them. he tries to send electrical sioux falls to his leg muscles, but at this stage the signals are quite weak. so to boost them he relies on the machine. the robotic device helps him

perform the desired bending and stretching. as well as using the robotic attachment he tries to move forward on his own. >> translator: the signals are still weak, but they do reach his legs when he tries to move them. he's starting from scratch, learning how to move again. he's trying his best. >> translator: i still have a long way to go. but i think i'm getting closer to my goal. >> reporter: and that goal is to get around with the help of walking sticks by the spring. the new treatment devised in japan gives people plenty to look forward to. three other patients have had similar transplants at the

osaka university hospital. doctors say all have shown some improvement, 40 others are on the waiting list. but to treat patients from around the country more rehabilitation centers are need and the amount of time and money spent on rehab will have to be reduced the. sake brewers are trying to prove their product pose no health threat. consumers worried about radioactive contamination following the nuclear accidents in fukushima, but they shouldn't. 25 breweries held a tasting session in tokyo. they are all members of the fukushima sake cooperative. representatives say all the rice used for their sake must clear checks for radioactivity and they say these checks are stricter than the government standard. they also point out companies conduct tests at various stages of the brewing process. radioactive substances have never been detected in sake made

in fukushima but brewers say many consumers have shunned their products since the 2011 nuclear accident. >> translator: all sake made in fukushima is tested for safety so they are the safest of all. >> he says he hopes more people will try their sake once they know it's safe he says the flavor will keep them coming back for more. one of the world's most famous fashion designers has moved off the catwalk and into the streets of brazil. junko koshimo designed costumes for a team of dancers in sao paulo. koshimo worked with a team of about 90 dancers. she created their outfits and took part in the carnival. the designs were inspired by a kimono. >> translator: everyone tells me they've never seen costumes like

mine. i'm happy to see people enjoying them. >> brazil has the world's largest population of japanese descendants outside of japan. 1.5 million people trace their roots to early 20th century immigrants. severe weather is rolling across the southeast u.s. today. meteorologist robert speta is here with the forecast for there and the rest of the world. robert? >> yes, gene. actually we've been seeing this rough weather all week. it's not going to be nearly as bad in the forecast as we saw there in hattiesburg over the week with that tornado but even further we're still seeing a tornado watch actually in southern georgia. there's that risk lingering there but the main threat across much of this area is high winds, even a slight chance of hail as this storm system continues to develop and push off here towards the east. now a little bit further towards the north this is where we'll start to get into the snowfall, talking about around virginia, west virginia and then moving over towards washington, d.c.,

and even into new york. remember last week we had that very severe blizzard that blew through here. as this continues to push off that very well could add a few more centimeters on top especially up in new england. washington, d.c. you haven't seen any significant snow at all to speak of yet this year so that's something new four. further off here towards the west, looking at this area pushing through. that's an alberta clipper. north dakota across minnesota and wisconsin seeing five centimeters of snowfall here into the next 24 hours. few areas could be seeing 15 centimeters especially once you start getting enhanced by the lake-effect. winnipeg high of minus 4. chicago up to 4 degrees. further towards the west and south, things quiet. los angeles 21. eastern asia, high pressure is dominating much of korea, even into japan. particularly this big blue h. what that means a big dome that's suppressing any weather from really developing but

there's going change in the horizon. into southern china we have a station jae boundary that's developing up here. bringing freezing rain across much of the area on thursday west of shanghai. but that storm system starts to develop and pull off towards the east by thursday evening. you'll start to see rain across tokyo on friday. doesn't look like it will be rather unsettled by the end of the work week. weekend should be clearing up. for the time being expect those rain showers. high pressure dominates the rest of the not. bay sing 4. ulan batur minus 3. now let's look over towards europe. we have two storm systems on tap. one moving across the british isles and another one here in italy moving through into the balkans. italy you've been pound by this storm.

it has been persisting for some time now. it's starting to move off towards the south and eventually into the east. cy -- sicily you're seeing rain. balkans you're seeing snow. wind warnings in effect as this continues to push offshore. unfortunately that's the winds rushing but the system itself is not moving anywhere very fast into greece expect those conditions to linger throughout the remainder of your work week. then look at this system moving across the british isles. this one will bring snowfall, actually 10 centimeters in portions of scotland. down further towards the south should remain rain but what it will be doing all that snow shifting over to rain and eventually clearing out an temperatures are warming up. we have these strong southerly winds. london a high of 3 here on your wednesday. that's going to be working its way into the double digits on your thursday. that's a look at your world weather. here's your extended forecast.

weather. we're back in 30 minutes with more of the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo.